Rinnai UK - Business of the Week

12th October 2017

During each week of the close-season, Widnes Vikings will showcase a business that has pledged their support to the Club in the 2018 season. Meet our Business of this Week, Rinnai UK…

The Vikings Media team caught up with Chris Goggin, Associate Director at Rinnai UK, to get the lowdown on their services and why they choose to back the Vikings

Chris, tell us a bit about your business…

Rinnai is the world’s biggest manufacturer of gas appliances. We supply in excess of 20million appliances worldwide. Rinnai UK supply the UK and European market with high efficiency water heating and heating systems; these systems lead the market in terms of performance and can save our end clients significant costs on energy! Ideal applications for us are leisure facilities like Rugby clubs.

What makes your company special?

Rinnai is a huge global company but it is based on traditional family values. We lead the way in terms of innovation and product development. We open state-of-the-art factories and facilities worldwide, but still hold our stakeholders’ interests as the highest priority. We like to commit to the betterment of the regions in which we are based, and it is this level of commitment to people and the planet that is a special element of the organisation.

What was it about Widnes Vikings that made you want to get involved as a sponsor?

We feel that the values of Rinnai synch well to those of the Vikings. We both have a focus on innovation, whilst recognising and committing to the community, so to align with an organisation that shares our values whilst also committing to the “triple bottom line” is something we remain excited about.

We are proud to sponsor Widnes Vikings and add them to the array of sponsorship partners we have worldwide, like the Fifa Club World Cup, Nascar and the Queensland Reds.

Why have Rinnai pledged their support for the Vikings again, for the 2018 and 2019 seasons?

We pledged our support early, because we believe that the club is organised for sustainability and the One Club ethos is second to none.

We shared the highs and lows with the Club last season, but we had faith in the structure and leadership. We also strongly believe in the synchronicity of values we share. We are looking forward to the coming seasons, so keep an eye out for some more of our joint initiatives!

You were a player sponsor of Chris Houston this year, as well as a branded sponsor on the Club’s shorts, has that been a success for you?

The sponsorship has been an absolute success. We had a certain set of objectives that we wanted to achieve for our brand. These objectives have been unequivocally achieved from a brand awareness and community engagement perspective. Chris Houston has been an excellent brand advocate and we thank him, as we do all the Widnes Vikings staff for their professionalism and support.

What inspires your loyalty to Widnes Vikings?

In addition to the above, which I have already spoke about, we have to make a special reference to the #OneClubMyVikings feature. The recipients of this each month inspire our loyalty to the Club and also inspire our staff every day!

Earlier in the season, Rinnai UK tested some of our first team squad with a 'Man vs Machine' challenge.